Published: December 25, 2010

How the Rig Crew Responded to the Blowout

One Worker’s Response

At right, Caleb Holloway, a floor- hand on the Deepwater Horizon, recalls his final minutes on the rig. Below, a diagram of the rig and what happened in three key areas. Related article »

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Video by David Barstow, Xaquín G.V., Rob Harris, Haeyoun Park, Sergio Peçanha and Graham Roberts/The New York Times

A Disaster in the Making

The Deepwater Horizon had a number of defenses against blowouts. But members of the crew hesitated at critical moments and failed to coordinate a response in three key areas.

Drill Shack

The crew calls the bridge about a well control situation and then tries to stop the blowout. Someone here may have later tried to activate an emergency shutdown of systems on the drilling floor, but it does not prevent the explosions. None of the workers in the shack survive.

Bridge

Gas sensors go off but the bridge does not activate emergency systems that might have prevented gas from spreading or igniting. The crew members on the bridge also do not immediately sound a general alarm to start evacuation. While they inform the engine control room of a well control situation, they tell them nothing about the erupting mud or gas alarms.

Engine Control Room

A chief mechanic and three others in the engine control room are aware of gas on the rig but do not activate an emergency shutdown. They later say that the protocol is to wait for instructions from the bridge. Engines 3 and 6 are believed to be at the center of two major explosions. The four men are caught between the blasts, but all survive.

A mixture, including mud and gas, initially gushes out of the well and cascades off the drilling floor. It then shoots up inside the derrick. A worker on a crane sees gas spreading across the rig.

Graphic by Haeyoun Park, Graham Roberts and Archie Tse/The New York Times|Send Feedback

Sources: Transocean; BP; National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling; interviews with Horizon crew members